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Slug pellets!

ThankthecatThankthecat Posts: 421
edited May 2018 in The potting shed
I hope I'm not about to start WWIII here! I've never used the 'real' slug pellets - you know, the ones that actually work - but the bloody things are driving me mad. Actually in my garden it's mainly snails but same difference as far as my plants are concerned. I've tried all the wildlife-friendly options but none seem to make much difference. I've never had a garden so full of them before. Short of spending two hours every single night out with a torch and a bucket I don't think I'll win unless I use some of the nasty blue things. This year I really want to be able to eat some salads from the garden so my question is - if I use the blue ones but only under a mesh net around my lettuces or other tasty plants, well fixed down all around, and then collect the dead molluscs from under it in the morning, would that prevent any collateral damage? If the frogs, toads, birds, etc can't get to the poisoned slugs?

Apologies - I've just realised that for some reason I posted this in The Potting Shed, but I can't work out how to move it...
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 30
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  • PurplerainPurplerain Posts: 1,053
    edited May 2018
    I use them and have done for the last year or two. I saved every eggshell (my own and the loads I still get from the family) baked and mixed with garlic. I have made garlic spray and tried coffee grinds. I even built a little pond, but nothing worked.

    Every morning after rain, there they were, marching across the patio towards breakfast and everything they left from their supper the night before.

    I still have two cats, a visiting bengal, a dog sometimes, magpies, blackbirds, little birds of various descriptions and at last plants and leafy veg. 

    I am only speaking for myself though and respect those who have solved the problem their way, and failed to answer your question. I don't know if that would work but you could try it.
    SW Scotland
  • ThankthecatThankthecat Posts: 421
    Sorry @Purplerain - what do you use? The blue slug pellets? Nematodes? (which, by the way, I just can't afford)... I'm probably being thick, or just sleepy, but I'm not sure exactly what your solution was?
  • PurplerainPurplerain Posts: 1,053
    It is the blue ones @Thankthecat. I can't afford nematodes either. 
    SW Scotland
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Which blue ones? The nasty ones containing metaldehyde or the ones that are supposed to be  nicer  containing ferrous something or other  ?

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    I have used the nasty blue ones in the past and there is no denying that they help. It is difficult for ordinary gardeners to assess the damage they do and opinions are as varied as they are vociferous. These days I have two silly young dogs who chew everything so I use the bucket and torch method. If it is any comfort, I have found that I DO have to spend a lot of time doing it at the start of the season but if you keep going, the numbers reduce. In early March I was collecting 300 - 400 slugs in an hour but now I have to look really hard to find 100, most nights, and if the garden and the air are dry, I skip it altogether. I have undamaged lupins and thriving Michaelmass daisies, I'm feeling really positive about it. Mind you, I haven't told the grandchildren about my night-time habits.....
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,277
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  • PurplerainPurplerain Posts: 1,053
    I have just been out to the shed to check Dove and it is the nasty blue ones. I did try the beer traps Holly but emptying it made me squirm, and it only caught a tiny percentage of the problem.

    What do you do with the captured ones Posy?  My problem, like the OP is mainly snails and they come home I believe.
    SW Scotland
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Poundstretcher currently have packs of 2 Doff slug traps at 99p.(i use cheapest lidl bitter in them) They have a cover so the larger animals don't drink the beer, and the rain is kept out. I am a convert. They are better than the little yoghurt pots I had scattered around.  They are currently catching slugs and  the occasional snail. Snail hunts still go on. Holes in walls and under rocks are favourite hiding places.  Stamp on the snails or give them a salt bath.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,277
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